Rise and Shout!

On Saturday Eva had the opportunity to attend her first ever BYU game in Lavell Edwards Stadium! BYU vs. Florida State. She loved every minute of it. Actually, she pretty much slept through the entire game and considering the outcome of that game it was probably a good thing for her. I didn't want her first game experience to be one of a more than disappointing outcome. As you can see in the photo above she came showing her BYU spirit and was snug as a bug the whole game. When Eva wasn't snuggled down in her sling she was getting all sorts of love from mom, dad, and aunts Jacque, Lisa and Diane!

And here is the whole family smiling for our first family photo at a BYU game.

Eva, Meet Great Grandma Durfey.

A few days after we brought Eva home from the hospital we took her to meet her great Grandma Durfey. Grandma Durfey just turned 90 years young in January. My Grandma is such an amazing woman that it was an honor to watch her hold our baby in her arms for a couple of hours and fuss over what a great baby it is and tell me stories of when she brought her babies home from the hospital. Moments like that are moments that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I have been told (and I still need to verify this) that Eva is my Grandma's 110th great grandchild. Not only is she the 110th, but she is the 55th girl! That is right, 55 great grandson's and 55 great granddaughters for my Grandma. The crazy thing about that is that she also has 6 children (3 of them boys and 3 of them girls) and 40 grandchildren (20 granddaughters and 20 grandsons). Somehow she had managed to keep it even!

I am lucky to have such a close relationship with my Grandma and I can only hope that Eva will have the same sort of relationship with her Grandparents.

Eva Ann Clark

Eva Ann Clark entered this world on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 at 3:37 pm. Eva was born 2 weeks and 1 day early and weighed in at a whopping 5 pounds and 6 ounces and was 18 inches long.

After battling with a mild case of preeclampsia for about 1 month my doctor decided it was time to induce me. My body was not ready to go into labor so we knew it was going to be a very long process. The induction started Saturday morning, August 8th. Around midnight on Saturday is when they started pitocin. I started having contractions pretty soon after the pitocin was started and Eva did not like the contractions one bit. Every time I had a hard contraction her heart rate would drop. So for several hours the pit was on, and then off, back on, and then off again. Sunday morning my Doctor broke my water and I got an epidural a couple of hours after that. Eva didn't like the epidural either. The second the epidural was in and taking effect her heart rate dropped again and this time it dropped low and for a little too long. My nurse and anesthesiologist quickly lowered the dosage on the epidural and gave me some medication to help get her heart rate back to where it should be. A few more hours passed of trying to get the pitocin to kick in and then finally, around 2pm on Sunday, my doctor decided it was time to do a c-section. A quick hour and a half later Eva was here.

The c-section went very well thanks hugely in part to great nurses and a great Doctor. JP was there and was able to watch Eva take her first breath in this crazy world. My sister Diane is a nurse in American Fork Labor and Delivery and was able to be in the room for the c-section. Diane was also around for most of the rest of the labor part. It was so comforting knowing that I had a great sister there to help take care of me!

Wednesday morning JP and I were able to bring our sweet little angel home. Eva has been nearly perfect for this first week of her life. She rarely cries and is as close to perfect as I think a newborn baby comes. When we brought Eva home she only weighed 4lbs and 12oz. By Friday she had gained a few ounces and was up to 4lbs and 15oz. She has nearly another week to be back to her birth weight.

Mother is recovering quite well and getting back to feeling normal fairly quick. JP and I are loving being parents. Having such a perfect little baby seems to make the time we waited to get her here so worth it.

Our fabulous nurse and my sister Diane with the proud new daddy.

Excited grandparents and Aunts waiting to meet Eva for the first time.Me admiring my new baby!Our new little family!

Note to Self...

Do not, ever, ever, again make a to-do list. You will only jinx yourself and end up having to get rid of the to-do list anyways!

Things To Do Before Eva Arrives...

I can hardly believe that the 40 weeks of my pregnancy has so quickly dwindled down to only 5 weeks left. The past 9 months I have been telling myself that we have plenty of time to get ready for this little baby. Now, here I am, 5 weeks from my due date and oh so many things to do and really not that much time to do them in!

-Unpack the house (note to self, do not ever move again being 34 weeks pregnant! Good thing about this is that my closest and draws will already be clean and organized once we are unpacked.)
-Figure out how to decorate Eva's room. Colors have been picked but that is as far as I have gotten.
-Decorate Eva's room.
-Finish Eva's crib bedding (thanks to my mom this is almost done!)
-Set up crib and put the bedroom together.
-Wash sheets, blankets, baby clothes and get some clothes that will actually fit her when she is born.
-Buy newborn diapers (somehow I have managed to buy size 1 and 2 but never did I think that I would also need newborn diapers), wipes, baby lotion, baby wash, and all other necessities needed for the young.
-Figure out maternity leave.
-Find a pediatrician.
-Get a car seat and stroller.
-Send out thank you cards.
-Get a pedicure and massage.

I am sure that I am missing many things but that is all that I have the energy to think about doing today. I think that the "nesting" thing is setting in and I want to get everything done that I can so I can just enjoy the last couple weeks of being pregnant. Luckily I have a very helpful and supportive husband that will knock a lot of things off that list for me.

JP and I can not wait to meet this little baby and spoil her rotten once she gets here! Baby Eva, you are going to be one loved little girl!!!

The Top of the Bleachers

The past couple of months I have spent a lot of time at Baseball games. JP s season is about half way over and a few games ago I had a tough realization. It is going to be a LONG time before I will, once again, be able to sit at the top of the bleachers. I love going to a baseball game and sitting at the top of the bleachers. You always have a nice back rest, you have a great view of the game, and rarely is the top bench full so you have plenty of room to yourself. Recently my ever-enlarging belly has made it difficult to climb more than a couple of rows up the bleachers. My balance is not what it used to be and I do not think it will be getting any better before this season is over. I am sure you are thinking to yourself, big deal, there is always next year. That was the first thought that I had... and then I realized that next year I will have a 7 month old baby that will be joining me at the baseball games. I know I will not be climbing to the top of the bleachers with a baby! The year after that the baby will be a toddler and walking all over the place, definitely no top of the bleachers with a toddler. By the time I would be able to take this baby to the top the whole thing will more than likely be starting all over again! I have finally accepted the fact that for the next 8 to 10 years I will be stuck at the bottom of the bleachers. No back rest, people walking in front of me, people standing in front of the fence, and those are just a few of the disadvantages. I am sure that next year I will be a little more interest in the baby that I will be taking to the game with me than the actual game (sorry to admit that JP) so it will probably not be an issue then, but right now I feel that I will truly miss the top of the bleacher. So for now, I say farewell to the top of the bleachers and I will learn to love my new spot and the bottom.

Ice Skating

I know this is not something that many people do after they get out of High School, but if you haven't been for a while I highly recommend it. JP and I went Ice Skating yesterday with some of my family and we had a great time. Even the 3 year old had a fun on the ice. JP was like a kid again skating around with my nieces. I, on the other hand, didn't last too long. I quickly learned that skating in a circle does not mix well with my pregnant state. Motion sickness set in pretty quick and after a few times around the rink I was done for. Everyone else had a great time.